Aleotti (Menarini): no payback in Italy, against tariffs Europe needs to take action

Tariffs, increasingly aggressive competitors, Europe's inaction and payback. These are the thorns of the pharmaceutical industry, a colossus of the Italian economy with 56 billion in production value in 2024, of which 54 billion for exports. Lucia Aleotti, shareholder and member of the Menarini bord, vice-president of Confindustria, illustrated them during the Colloqui dell'economia organised by the Florence Chamber of Commerce with Il Sole 24 Ore-Radiocor. "Menarini," she explains, "produces in the USA what it sells in that country and is therefore not directly affected by the increase in tariffs, but the combination of American tariffs with the devaluation of the dollar should not be underestimated, it can have serious effects: Trump aims to bring back to the United States the production that takes place outside the continent.

This is the most concrete risk: that pharmaceutical multinationals, which in Italy have found the skills to grow to become leaders in Europe, may now relocate, deflating production and GDP. This is also why Aleotti is calling for a concrete signal of attention from the government as early as the next Budget Law, starting with the payback estimated at 2 billion in 2024 to be borne by companies. 'The pharmaceutical expenditure ceiling,' he emphasises, 'must be commensurate with the real health needs of citizens. One cannot set a low limit to make industries pay 50% of the overrun'. For Aleotti, the intervention on the payback could represent 'an incentive not only to attract new pharmaceutical companies to Italy, but above all to prevent trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the USA from favouring a decentralisation of production'.

China and India could also take advantage of Italian and European weaknesses. 'Well the single market, not the only market,' summarises the entrepreneur to underline the 'weakness' of Brussels policies that are insufficient to strengthen the industrial fabric and the competitiveness of companies. 'Take the case of the first vaccine against Covid,' she recalls, 'the technology was German, but production took place in America and we Europeans were only concerned with buying it at the best possible price on the market. As President Draghi said, 'European management is unfortunately characterised by inaction: it means that a lot of analyses are carried out, a lot of advice is given, the problem is analysed and then nothing concrete is put in place'. 'This slowness,' says Aleotti, 'is absolutely at odds with the speed of the times, and the speed at which China, India and the United States are moving, stifling Europe's capabilities and competitiveness. Thus the EU has had to witness the flight of 200 billion in investments that are 'less profitable in the Old Continent than elsewhere' . Among the requests to Europe and Italy at the top of the list is also 'the reduction of bureaucracy and better protection of intellectual property'.

Menarini is a multinational company with 4.603 billion Euro in consolidated sales in 2024, over 17 thousand employees worldwide and 609 million packs per year produced and distributed in 5 continents. But it has its heart and head in Italy. 'Tuscany,' concludes the vice president of Confindustria, 'is exposed more than other territories to the squeeze on tariffs due to its strong vocation for exports. And finally: 'In recent days, a manifesto by three economists on the risk of deindustrialisation of the region has come out, a cry of alarm that comes from economists and not from the world of production. We must be careful. There can be no territory that does without industry if it wants to have a high standard, because high value-added services, logistics and other sectors are attached to industry'.